The Orange County Screenwriters Association
Be Inspired, Do Good Work

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Friday, 25 December 2009 14:47

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,  Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Yuletide, Happy Winter solstice, Season's Greetings...and whatever else works in your world.

From your friends at The Orange County Screenwriters Association.  

Be Inspired.  Do Good Work.

 

 

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Friday, 01 January 2010 02:08

Looking Forward, Looking Back

A Dream Made Real
December 2009
by
Mark Sevi

My name is Mark Sevi. I’m a professional screenwriter and the nominal president of the Orange County Screenwriters Association.

ticketsIn March of this year (2009) a series of events made it possible for me to realize a dream that I’ve had for nearly five years - to start the Orange County Screenwriters Association. Although I had tried earlier, I wasn’t able to get much traction until a good friend, Raymond Obstfeld, introduced me to a person who has grown to become another friend, Larry Porricelli, the manager of the Regency South Coast Village Theater.  
 

 Larry gave us a venue that is beyond compare - The Regency South Coast Village Theater - and made himself and his staff available on Saturday mornings. Our events have been nothing but regency theater joy and in large part Larry and his staff are the reason why. A big thanks to him and the owner of the Regency chain, Lyndon Golin, for helping us make this happen.

 As I look back at our inaugural year (six months, actually) and look forward to 2010, I’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who has come to our events, helped to organize them, and become a friend and supporter of OCSWA. We simply could not have made this dream a reality without everyone’s help and support including the continuing support of over 3,000 educators in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego counties.

 Have a happy and safe holiday and please come see us in 2010. We have so much great stuff planned for the coming year.

  (more follows)
 
 I’m finishing this now at 1:30am here in SoCal, a few days before Christmas and nearly at the end of an amazing year.  

 My thoughts about what’s happened so far revolve around people not events.  Since an organization is only as good as its members, and we have been lucky to get so many great people to help us out, I need to acknowledge some folks who need to be recognized for their enduring efforts:

 The board of directors and advisors of the Orange County Screenwriters Association have sacrificed time and/or money to this organization.

 Namely:

 board membersSterling Vozenilek - my good buddy, who believed in this concept and put money toward that belief when no one else did and who continues to help fund OCSWA with her energy and wallet. Big ups to you, Sterling, and all my love.
  Raymond Obstfeld - who made the connections all possible.
  Larry Porricelli - who gave us our venue and more.
  Marie Mastrangelo - who worked tirelessly to populate our databases and make some crucial online connections.
Natalie St. Andre - whose smiling face was the first I saw at the initial meeting of the board of directors.  She helped in getting things started.  Her schedule keeps her pretty busy but we're hoping she'sll be able to take a stronger role soon.
  Deborah True Neal - whose insight and inspiration is enduring and limitless.
  Victor Phan - who came aboard after our first event and is without compare in all ways. I swear his energy could power the space shuttle.
  Robert Abe - one of our tech guys whose good spirits and high energy always help us move forward.
  Christian Stambouli - whose stability and brilliance in all things guides us.event
  Jackie Zimbalist - who we don’t see often but who always there to keep us honest.
  Matthew Scott - who works behind the scenes to help in ways no one can imagine.
  Scott Broberg - who has connected us to schools, organizations and many hundreds of students.
   Dr. Ben Hubbard - who provides our spiritual center.
  Clark Peterson - who was our first speaker and provides Hollywood insight to our cause.

 A thanks also to Tom Sullivan who has been recently photographing our events and providing good suggestions and insight at our board meetings.

 In May 2009, a very special person named Eric Hensman who owns Lennexe Productions came up to me and said “You Write It, We’ll Film It” - or something like that. The first official “Make it Reel Script to Screen Contest” was born. OCSWA ran a short scriptwriting contest this past summer that then became a wonderful short film called “Harvey The Monster Racist” that was premiered at our December 5th event.  

 Eric and Itai Levin, another remarkable man, put together an amazing production effort for this film. I can’t sufficiently tell you how impressed I was by their work. Eric and Itai, OCSWA is ever grateful for your creativity, professionalism, and continued support. We look forward to an even more productive and creative 2010.

A rough background and timeline:

 Our mission to bring Hollywood to the O.C. started early in 2009 and will continue on until they bury us all.  To help accomplish that goal, OCSWA has done four events so far that featured Hollywood professionals.

March 24, 2009

 A beginning.

board Even before our first event, there was so much to do. Once the venue was set and I knew the organization was at least possible I pulled together some friends and friends of friends and we met at the Haus of Pizza on Harbor Blvd. to discuss my crude and unformed ideas.

These special people mentioned previously quickly put their energy into helping those ideas take form. We knew we wanted to have something happening before the colleges let out in the Spring so we really needed to get busy and get an event on the calendar. No one knew exactly how to do what we needed to do - we just guessed at it and hoped we were guessing right.  Sometimes we did.

 logoA logo had to be designed - then a website that would begin to give us some online legitimacy. I do web design on the side but this one was different - it had to be perfect. Or as perfect as I could make it. I worked for hours on end on it and finally launched it around the 2nd week in April.

 Then it was on to graphics designs, email list software, and a hundred other details that, truth be told, we’re still to this day working on - like getting an official 501(c)3 designation for the org  - hopefully this year.

 But at least we were moving forward and we had set a date for our first event- May 30, 2009. Our first guest would be my good friend Clark Peterson. Clark never hesitated in his acceptance - he said yes immediately. This was just the best news I could get - Clark is an amazing whip-smart producer who I knew would give us almost instant legitimacy. (IMDB listing)

 So, by the last week in April, we had a venue, a website, a logo and a guest speaker for our first event. Now we just had to get the word out.  Those of you who have done any marketing know how difficult that simple concept is.

 Marie Mastrangelo worked tirelessly along with other board members to populate our databases so we could send out newsletter blasts about who we were. I met with a dozen teachers at colleges and writing orgs. We all grabbed handfuls of lobby cards and pushed them in anyone’s face we could find. It never seemed like we were doing enough and I worried day and night that we needed to work harder to get the word out that we were here and we had something to offer.

May 30, 2009 - Our inaugural event.
A Q&A with producer Clark Peterson.  

 This was so incredibly nerve wracking since it was our first event and none of us had aregency theater good handle on how to do it. Marketing, massive email lists, lobby cards...who knew? And then once we figured some of that out, it was nervous time wondering if anyone would actually come.

 As mentioned I had done guest appearances at several college classes, talked to many college teachers, and we collectively passed out 2,500 lobby cards announcing the event.

 On that Saturday morning, we all stood in the lobby of the theater waiting for people to arrive. Would they come? It was so tense as we waited for the parking lot of the Regency Theater to fill up. And it did and people came, thankfully.

 But then I had to do a Q&A with Clark, who is a good friend and helped a great deal to make that portion go well but, man, was I nervous. To help move the morning along we gave away some software and posters and T-shirts. That was fun and it did help break the tension and keep things happy and light. And it’s now become a fun part of our events.

  Over 175 people showed up to our first event - we marked it a cautious success.clark peterson Afterwards, many people stayed to network with us, each other and with Clark who graciously stuck around in the lobby and talked to anyone who approached him.  

 Among the networking that marked that day was a proposal from producer/director Eric Hensman of Lennexe Productions. He said if we ran a short script contest through OCSWA, then he would film the winner's entry - in other words, a real Hollywood-type experience in short form. The first Make It Reel Script to Screen Contest was born.

 But that meant it was back to the drawing board for me setting up a website capable of handling submission and entry fees - something I had never really done before. I spent hours sitting on my butt learning a CMS software called Moodle and modifying it to suit our purposes.  

 We ran the contest in July and although we didn’t get as many contestants as we had wished, we did get a reasonable number of excellent entries. Our board members, all excellent writers in their own right, acted as judges and we picked some finalists and semi-finalists and planned on announcing the winner at the next event in the Fall.

 Between June and September, after I put up the contest site, I redesigned the main website and made it interactive so we could actually reach out to more people besides the ones we saw locally. Plus, we were pretty quiet between events. I knew we had to keep people engaged when we weren’t on stage at The Regency. We’re still just scratching the surface of what we want to accomplish with the website.  

Baby steps.

September 19, 2009 - Our 2nd event.
A Q&A with producer Steve Eccelsine.

 We did many of the same things for this event that we did for the last one so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel in many areas. The event prep, which takes about six weekstheater seats all in, went very smoothly. We had a solid newsletter database by this time and designing promotional materials was simply a matter of using templates already created for the 1st event.

 Steve was a terrific guest and the event went very well for us. His book, “So You Want To Be A Producer” is like a training manual for Hollywood combined with corner store anecdotes on the madness that is Hollywood. And Steve can talk for hours on any subject you care to imagine. A truly magnificent guest.

 After Steve’s Q&A, we announced the winners of the contest and did the networking thing with Steve in the lobby and then went to lunch at Red Robin next door - what has now become a very fun, after-event tradition with us.

 Unfortunately, we still hadn’t been able to show our short winner’s film due to technical problems (and money.)  

 Before I could catch my breath after the September event, Victor Phan was pushing us to plan a Halloween horror panel for October - I really loved the idea and we got to work on it immediately since the date was fast approaching.

October 31, 2009- Halloween Horror Panel
A Q&A with Three Scary Guys.

 Initially, we had planned to run events only about once a quarter. But we couldn’t pass up Halloween - especially since I knew so many horror film professionals.

crazy members at Halloween Josh Eisenstadt, Steven Goldmann, and Shawn Papazian, our guests, came down to The O.C. and entranced us with their experiences as directors and independent producers of horror films. I will admit it was a lot to handle three strong personalities for a Q&A but they were all gracious gentlemen and it was such great fun to listen to their different approaches to the business.

 Between the September event and this one, Eric and his amazing crew at Lennexe had indeed filmed “Harvey the Monster Racist” in one, thickly packed, madness-inspired ten hour day. After this marathon session, Eric hunkered down with Itai Levin to cut it together.

 We had again hoped to have the finished film ready for this event; unforeseen technical difficulties made that impossible. But Eric spent hours and hours cutting together a little sizzle reel that showed where the final film would be going. It was very well received by everyone at the theater.

 We also had some very creative costumes at the event itself. Our costume contest winner was a very accurate recreation of Marissa Tomei’s outfit in the strip club in “TheHalloween panel Wrestler.” (Very hot.) Her husband came as Mickey Rourke. Great stuff.

 After the event, everyone hit the lobby for networking but only Steven Goldmann and Josh Eisenstadt joined us for lunch. Shawn Papazian unfortunately had to go to another engagement.

 Goldmann held court at Red Robin and continued to regale us with stories from his long and illustrious Hollywood career.

 All in all, another amazingly successful event


December 5, 2009 - Our last event of 2009
A Q&A with actor, producer , director, writer Kevin Sorbo

 I didn’t think we’d get Kevin Sorbo to come down to talk to us but he agreed almost immediately. I met Kevin when we did a press conference on a film of mine he was going to do but I hadn’t spoken to him in almost a year. I asked anyway and he shocked me by saying yes.

marquee It probably did help that he had another charity event to attend here in Orange County that day but I really think that he’s such a nice guy he would have done it no matter what.

 To read my full review of the event, go here (link).

 By now, our fourth event, we had this down to a science. We knew what we needed and who we had to talk to. We still have a lot to learn and accomplish but at some level we are on autopilot for these events now. That’s a good feeling since they are so much work to put on, it’s nice to be able to shift that a little off our shoulders.

Kevin Sorbo Perhaps that’s why I felt this event was the best of the lot. Although they all do have their strengths, this one was my absolute favorite. I know I said earlier that I didn’t have a favorite but Kevin is such an amazing interviewee - he made it a joy to listen to him talk about his nearly 20-year career. I could have listened for hours. Incredible man and Q&A.

 He didn’t join us for lunch since he was already late for his second charity event of that day, but he did stay and sign autographs, pose for photos, and help us out immensely with some signed materials he personally sold for to help our always hungry treasury.

 I was still buzzing with excitement when I got home late that afternoon. Not even USC’s loss to Arizona that day could dampen my spirits.  

 Really, just a wonderful event.
 

 So it’s almost the end of our first year now. We had intended to also do seminars and classes over the Summer but the events kept us pretty busy. One seminar we had planned “Writers And Fighters” didn’t get enough of an enrolment so we cancelled it. We still need to learn how to market those types of events I guess. But like everything else we do, learning is always the first step.  

 As I look back and look ahead, I see a lot to love, a lot to improve and a lot to look forward to. 2010 will hopefully build on our past successes and continue with even greater achievements.

 We do have pitch fests, great Q&A’s, seminars, more website interaction and many other helpful events and resources planned. We know what we accomplished in 2009 and we understand that we have to be even better in 2010. And we will. We most definitely will.

 board membersOCSWA is filled with incredibly talented people who believe in the power of art and its ability to lift the human spirit. In our small way, we really feel like we’re contributing to the enduring strength and spirit of mankind. Once we achieve our official non-profit status we hope to do even more along those lines in the way of actual outreaches to people less fortunate than us.

 We do understand that in the larger scheme of things movies are a small part of the world - but they have the power to transform and inspire.

A movie can bring joy, illuminate pain and also take away both - it’s that powerful when it’s done right. Helping people write movies seems worthwhile to us - it’s a tangential effort to keep all our spirits bright and our minds informed.

 We all truly believe that. And we work hard to spread that message.

 Once again, I’d like to personally, and on behalf of the board of directors, thank everyone associated with OCSWA. It’s been a joy so far and I know it will only grow to be better in the future. Please help us help you by contributing ideas and articles to the website, coming to the events, suggesting improvements, and spreading the word about this org.

 Happiest of Holidays and a Great 2010 to you all.

 Be inspired. Do good work.

 Mark
 

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Tuesday, 15 December 2009 09:53

Uncertainty

Last night at the Orange County cultural center of film, The Regency South Coast Plaza Theater, a small but enthusiastic group of film lovers watched the movie "Uncertainty" and then were treated to a Q&A with the writers/producers/directors.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel have created an interesting, "experimental" film about the choices we make and the consequences of those decisions.  

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins as a couple who flip a coin, head off in different directions and meet different versions of each other's significant other at opposite ends of the Brooklyn Bridge.

One set of couples go on a mundane trip to a family barbecue and the other end up finding a cell phone in a cab that begins a serious set of turns of thriller events in Chinatown.  Both sets of couples though have life and death decisions to make and trying to decide which of those sets of decisions is more important or dramtic is part of the underlying depth of this film. 

Much about this film is under the surface, at times a bit off-kilter - the plot elements, the sometimes odd decisions as to the characters and their backgrounds, the fact that a lot of the film was improvised during a month of rehersals in NYC - and that's all good.  I am truly in awe of the filmmakers who insisted (cue music) on doing this movie their way.

"Uncertainty" is in the vein of "Sliding Doors"  and "Run Lola Run" with elements of neither.  But rather than go into detail as to where the film goes and how it resolves, I will say that some could be disappointed if expecting some of the traditional genre elements that go with a thriller or a couple's drama.  The stories are parallel - they don't converge (except in a few certain moments.)  They don't resolve in an expected way.  This is perhaps a bit unsatisfying because you wonder about the point of the film.  But look beyond that and you're entertained with two wonderful stories that could have stood alone.

I analogize "Uncertainty" this way:  It's like you're sitting down for a multi-course meal in an epicurean area in which you've never been  - say Korean or Armenian (which I've both done  recently.)  There are certain dishes that will be familiar and you'll like; some you will like even though they taste a bit odd, some you'll just nod at without a strong reaction, and some you'll dislike and push away.  That's this movie.

The Q&A with McGehee and Siegel, two Orange County boys (now living and working in NYC,) was lively and vasty entertaining.  Both are whip-smart, smart-assed, and have a depth of experience when it comes to their process and the off-Hollywood experience.  I only say off-Hollywood in that they've made their mark primarily in the "Independent" world.  But they are also working on a film for The Weinstein company that will no doubt change that perception quite a bit - if their highly successful "The Deep End" staring Tilda Swinton didn't already.

"Uncertainty" is playing in select theaters and is available through IFC on Demand.  It will soon be on the normal IFC channel (which I love) and then in the stores and online as a rental.

I was happy to see this film and thrilled to sit down with these amazing filmmakers.  Thank the Powers that there are still filmmakers and venues for these movies that don't follow formulas, that take risks and go in unexpected directions.  A vibrant movie industry desperately needs to nurture and maintain these surprising jewels. 

On a side note, afterward, I was graciously invited by Seth Siegel to an intimate nosh that featured some of the most amazing chocolate I've ever eaten called Myra Kyoto Chocolate (www.myrakyotochocolate.com) - yes, this is a shameless plug in the hopes they'll send me more - just kidding -  but honestly, the chocolate is that good.

Also, kudos to the Regency Theater group for making these types of movies and Q&A's available - please continue to support this venue or wonderful events like this might disappear entirely.

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Monday, 14 December 2009 10:26

December 5th Event With Kevin Sorbo

On December 5, 2009 The Orange County Screenwriters Association was proud to host a Q&A with Mr. Kevin Sorbo at the beautiful Regency South Coast Theater. As always, a special thanks to Larry Porricelli and Lyndon Golin at the Regency for making us feel at home.

I’ll admit I’m prejudiced. I really like Kevin Sorbo. I met him for the first time at a press conference for a film of mine he is slated to star in (link.) He was amazingly open and friendly to everyone there, including the press. You just like this man - he’s truly genuine.   (READ MORE) 

I smiled and laughed and was wholly engaged through the whole Q&A - and I was the one doing the Q&A. So much for objectivity. I was buzzing for hours afterward, happy and inspired by Kevin’s words and stories about his experiences in the business. He made it absolutely clear - if you want to succeed, you have to want this and think of littl else. You have to eat, drink and live the business. But that’s preaching to the choir, as far as I’m concerned - on this topic he reflected my opinions exactly.  t’s no wonder Kevin has so many rabid fans; he was simultaenously funny, articulate, inspiring, generous, informative and well, I don't know how else to say it - charming.  He entranced all assembled for nearly two hours with his personal observations and professional insights.

His depth and breadth of experience is remarkable. He’s done everything from series, to sitcoms, to farces, to a recent turn as a villain in the soon-to-be-released 3D thriller “Julia X.” Of course, he’s perhaps best recognized as being the 7-year face of the “Hercules” series and then for five years as Dylan Hunt, captain of the starship “Andromeda.” But Sorbo has really done it all including writing, producing, and directing.

His latest focus, besides his acting, is founding and heading up his own production company, Touchwood. Like many actors these days, he is actively choosing his material in order to more perfectly control his career output. This is just another in a series of smart moves in this very accomplished man’s nearly 20-year run in which he is still touted as being one of the most bankable TV faces behind Oprah and Regis. 

Sorbo is also a spiritually generous man. He came and talked to us (a not-for-profit org) then went immediately to an event to sign autographs for a cancer charity. He chairs a non-profit organization called A World Fit For Kids and does a lot of charity golf events - although given his five handicap I don’t think they have to twist his arm much to do those events.

Kevin is a doting father - a soccer dad in his words- to his three children. A man of strong faith he values family over all. These days you’re about as likely seeing him posing with his children and wife (the beautiful and accomplished actress Sam Jenkins) as in any publicity shots.

I asked Kevin what he would do if he couldn’t act (or play golf.) As A former letterman in four sports and a college jock, I figured he’d say something like “sports.” He surprised me by saying “teach.” Doesn’t that just figure? You really want to hate a guy who is so good looking, smart, charming, articulate and down-to-earth but in the case of Kevin Sorbo you just cannot dislike him. I defy you to try. The engaging smile, quick wit and his generous spirit will quickly win you over.

After the Q&A, he graciously stuck around to sign anything anyone wanted, take pictures with anyone and everyone, and help us on a charitable basis to sell some autographed merchandise.

Our deepest thanks to Kevin Sorbo, actor, producer, director, writer and all around good man, for coming to our event - we hope he’ll come back in 2010, perhaps to premier one of his new films.

In any case, the OCSWA door is always open to this supremely accomplished and very grounded superstar.

~~~

Before the Q&A started, we were treated to the finished cut of the first co-production of The Make It Reel Script to Screen Contest. “Harvey The Monster Racist” the winner of the short script contest run by OCSWA, was written by Brandon Tyra, directed by Eric Hensman from Lennexe Productions, and produced by Eric Hensman, Itai Levin and Mark Sevi.

Harvey is funny and terribly well-done. Hensman did an amazing job with little money and a lot of incredible volunteers who gave of their time and skills. His professionalism and skill are abundantly evident  in every frame of Harvey.

A link to the film can be found here: (coming soon)

All in all, this was a wonderful cap to end our 1st year (six months actually) of operation of the Orange County Screenwriters Association and the whirlwind events we managed to pull together.  

Happy Holidays to all.

Looking forward to an even more remarkable 2010.
 

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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 01:05

The Write Environment

Compelling interview series featuring top television writers in the industry, including, Damon Lindelof, Joss Whedon and Tim Kring

THE WRITE ENVIRONMENT features 50-65 minute, in-depth, one-on-one interviews with some of the most lauded and prolific writers in the television industry today, including Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Tim Kring (Heroes), Phil Rosenthal (Everybody Loves Raymond), Doug Ellin (Entourage) and Sam Simon (The Simpsons).

Created and hosted by screenwriter and journalist Jeffrey Berman, each episode of THE WRITE ENVIRONMENT takes viewers backstage into the heretofore unseen world of the writer’s room for intimate interviews that offer a rare look at these diverse writers and what inspires them. From that first idea to the finished script, the writers share their views and stories, examining their successes, failures, and everything in between.  As entertaining as it is informative, this series makes an excellent holiday gift for fans, fledgling writers, and seasoned pros alike as Hollywood’s most successful writers reminisce about their careers and discuss their craft. 

To learn more check out The Write Environment.

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Friday, 27 November 2009 15:12

American families want to see pants

This is so perfectly executed and fun-ny: link

These are the genuises responsible for it: link

Other fun:

How Jack The Ripper became Jack The Rapper: link

Blow it Up: link

Mark

 

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Thursday, 26 November 2009 09:25

It's a Tough Business But...

...we all have a lot to be thankful for.  Thanks for sharing this year, so far, with us.  We look forward to a lot more fun events (hint, hint December 5th) in the coming months and years.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Orange County Screenwriters Association.  

Your friends at OCSWA

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Wednesday, 25 November 2009 11:03

Screenwriting Classes

I've had so many inquiries through this website that I decided to post the information here on the front page.

I teach Screenwriting through Irvine Valley College's Continuing Education department.  My Intermediate Screenwriting Class starts a new semester next Tuesday at IVC and my Intro class will have a new semester starting on January 15th.

I've been teaching for 15 years and been a professional screenwriter for 18+ years with 18 films produced.

IVC's continuing edu website is www.123getsmart.com

If you need more info, email me through www.marksevi.com 

Thanks,

Mark

 

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Thursday, 19 November 2009 16:54

The Christmas Lights

Every year, as it grows closer to the holidays, I always cast my mind back to the previous year when I was again unloading and installing the lights that I put up outside my apartment.

Now I live in nice, Southern California neighborhood that I'm happy with.  But I do want to buy a house and have a sense of roots beyond the rent that I bleed out every month.  In fact, if I could afford it, I'd probably have a house somewhere close to where I'm already at.  It's just bascially the difference between renting and owning that I want to modify - which would mean, of course, that I was making enough money to afford a house.

I mention this because every year when I put away my lights, I think to myself, "I'm not  going to be here next year.  I am going to change my financial situation to the point where I can buy a place."  Then I'll put up all new Christmas lights and bless us one and all.

And every year I'm here.  Which, as I've said, isn't all that bad - but it's still...here.

My writing career, like all careers in the arts, is an up and down thing.  I may never achieve the financial success of writers like the guys who worked on "Star Trek Rebooted" or the David Goyers/Shane Blacks.  I work hard, I write cool movies (I think) and still I sit here, year after year, staring at the same walls, in the same office, doing the same monetary mambo that I've done for the last ten years or so.

Lame.

Or not.

One good thing about this economy (if there is such a thing) is a lesson that I hear loud and clear:  nothing is forever and even those with previously stable jobs are suffering.  I know I'm lucky - I know I also work hard to make myself this lucky.  I just wish that understanding and recognition came with some better financial benefits.  But at the end of the day, that's a small thing.

If I never buy a house, if I never achieve the success of the A-List writers then at least I can say (cue song) I did this my way.  Not so bad when you think of it.  I'm not worse off than any one else even if perhaps I'm not better off either.

I think as I contemplate dragging the boxes of lights out for yet another year to then somehow staple my thumb to the eaves, I will stop thinking about tomorrow or next year and once again thank whoever it is that's responsible for this world 'o madness that I do have many, many blessings that perhaps each year don't grow - but they certainly do not diminish much... 

No, you don't have to say it - I do know - that's worth a lot more than I can imagine.

Thanks for listening but excuse me now - I've got lights to put up.

Mark

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Monday, 16 November 2009 12:00

OCSWA friend JAMES HIRSEN to moderate

Our good friend, attorney James Hirsen, will be moderating a forum on November 19th at the Paley Center in Beverly Hills

The panel will feature top entertainment executives, lawyers and technology experts.

THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA
NOVEMBER 19TH, 2009
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
6PM-8pm • Cost : $50.00*
Call to reserve your space :
(310) 317-7014

Featured Topics Include:

* Sales and distribution models and how they affect revenue
* Technology methods to limit piracy
* Piracy legislation via lobbying
* Effectiveness of anti-piracy advertising
* Copyright law and its limitations in respect to illegal downloading

For tickets call (310) 317-7014 - - 50% discount for members of OC Screenwriters


 

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Tuesday, 17 November 2009 09:30

Harvey The Monster Racist

"HARVEY the Monster Racist"
Make it Reel Script Contest Winner
 

LINK to TRAILER - Full movie to be premiered on December 5th Event.

 

Produced by Lennexe Productions
Written by Brandon Tyra
Directed by Eric Hensman
Produced by Eric Hensman
Mark Sevi, and Itai Levin


    DP - Greg Nolan
Edited by Eric Hensman
    1st AD - Rylie Potter
    2nd AD - Charlie Barragan
    Sound Rec - Alex Monroe
    Sound Mixer - Noah Mendel-Kern
    Grip/Gaffer - Eric Dove


Key Make Up Artist - Allison Bryan
Make Up Artist - David Mendez
Make Up Artist - Elise Brown
Script Supervisor - Aaron Conway
Production Assistants - Ty Draper

Cast:
Rob Kent - Harvey
Victor Phan - Kenny
Charlie Chen - Dennis
Larry Porchelli - Mr. Kelin
Jeff Micheals - Frankenstein
Al Medina - Joe the Bum
Anna Huang - Vampira
Ty Draper - Co-worker

TRT 8min - Canon 5D - 1080p

Behind the Scenes - HVX-200 720p 

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Page 17 of 19

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Fair use refers to the right to reproduce, use and share copyrighted works of cultural production without direct permission from or payment to the original copyright holders. It is a designation that is assigned to projects that use copyrighted materials for purposes that include research, criticism, news reporting and teaching. When a project is protected under fair use provisions, the producers of that project are not subject to sanctions related to copyright infringement. The maintenance of fair use protections is central to many non-profit and education projects, especially those that operate in digital and online spaces.

This website may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright holders. The material is made available on this website as a way to advance research and teaching related to critical media literacy and intercultural understanding, among other salient political and social issues. Through context, critical questioning, and educational framing, the Orange County Screenwriters Association, therefore, creates a transformative use of copyrighted media. The material is presented for entirely non-profit educational purposes. There is no reason to believe that the featured media clips will in any way negatively affect the market value of the copyrighted works. For these reasons, we believe that the website is clearly covered under current fair use copyright laws. We do not support any actions in which the materials on this site are used for purposes that extend beyond fair use.

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